Bharatanatyam
is the most popular of Indian dances and belongs to the South Indian state
of Tamilnadu. Its antiquity is well established. In the past it was practised
ad performed in the temples by a class of dancers known as the devadasis.
It was a part of the religious rituals and has a long and hoary past. The
kings and the princely courts patronised the temples, as well as the various
traditions sustaining the dance form.

The
salient features of Bharatanatyam
are movements conceived in space mostly either along straight lines or
triangles. In terms of geometrical designs, the dancer appears to weave
a series of triangles besides several geometrical patterns.

In
nritta (pure
dance) to the chosen time cycle and a raga
(melody), a dancer executes patterns that reveal the architectonic beauty
of the form with a series of dance units called jathis
or teermanams.
The torso is used as a unit, the legs are in a semi-plie form and the stance
achieves the basic posture called araimandi.
The nritta numbers
include Alarippu,
Jatiswaram and
Tillana, which
are abstract items not conveying and specific meaning except that of joyous
abandon with the dancer creating variegated forms of staggering visual
beauty.

In
nritya, a dancer
performs to a poem, creating a parallel kinetic poetry in movement, registering
subtle expressions on the face and the entire body reacts to the emotions,
evoking sentiments in the spectator for relish - the rasa.
The numbers are varnam,
which has expressions as well as pure dance; padams,
javalis and shlokas.
The accompanying music is classical Carnatic. The themes are from Indian
mythology, the epics and the Puranas.